Concealed joint for carriage-tops



(No Model.)

o. MRTELL. GONGEALBD JOINT POB@ CARRIAGE TOPS. l 155.545,705. @Patenteds5p5.24,1895.

ANDREW B.6RAH^.M. PHUTO'U'D10.WASH\NGTON. DS.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICEe HERBERT C. MARTELL, OF COLUMBUS, ASSIGN ORTO THE EBERHARD MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CONCEALED JOINT CARRIAGE-TOPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,705,datedrseptember 24, 1895.

I Application filed May 8, 1895. Serial No. 548,470. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERBERT O. MARTELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Concealed Joints forCarriage-Tops; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact descrip` tion of the iuvention,such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The object of the invention is to provide a carriage-top with aconcealed joint of novel construction, which when connected with thebows of the carriage-top will either hold taut the side quarters andinside trimmings thereof or will allow the top to be crushed closelytogether, depending, of course, upon the relative position of the partsof said joint. The construction is of such a nature that it does notcatch the side quarters or trimmings as the top is being spread or letdown, nor does it cause any bunches or Wrinkles in said parts in anypositions which they assume. I accomplish this purpose by meanshereinafter more fully described, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the center and rear bowof a three-bow top, the front bow being removed and the joint beingfolded together, so as to allow the bows to come closely together, as incase where a top is let down. Fig. 2 represents the same center bow andrear bow in the relative positions which they assume when the top isspread. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of my concealed joint; and Fig. 4 is anend view of the joint, looking to the right in Fig. 1.

Referring to the parts by letters, A and B represent the two parts ofthe joint, which are hinged together, and C and D the two bows to whichthe ends of said parts are pivoted. Each of the parts A and B is bent orcurved longitudinally from end to end, whereby each is concavo-conveX intransverse section, as shown in the drawings, the concave side of saidparts being that which lies next to the bows when the joint is folded.The outer end of the part A is bifurcated, thereby forming the two earsa a, which lie against opposite sides of the bow C and are pivoted tosaid bow by the rivet c, which passes through both ears and theintermediate bow and has both of its ends headed or upset. Upon theouter end of the part B two ears b b are similarly 55 formed, which earsare in like manner pivoted to the bow D.

When the parts A and B are formed, as dcscribed, with ears, which areheld against opposite sides of the bows, these ears, although 6c thinand light, will, nevertheless, form means for connecting these partstothe bows, which will in practical use permit substantially no sidemovement of said parts, such as might tend to bind the hinge-joint bywhich said 65 parts are connected with each other. Owing to the peculiarform of these parts-viz., concavo-convex from end to end-these parts,when the joint is bent as shown in Fig. l,em brace and partly surroundthe bows, thereby 7o taking up very little room and permitting the topto crush more closely together than with the constructions heretoforeused. These parts are preferably formed of sheet metal bent into thedescribed form, this material 75 being preferred because it combines inthe highest degree two desirable characteristics, viz., strength andlightness. On the inner ends of each of these parts A and B are the earsa d and o b', which when said parts are 8o formed of sheet metal arebest formed integral with said parts and are bent outward and upward tothe positions shown in Fig. 4.. These ears are hinged together bytworivets a2 a2. When the parts are constructed and connect- 8 5 ed witheach other and the bows, as described, the proximate ends of said partsA and B below the pivots a2 abut when the joint is straightened, therebypreventing the bending of the hinge-joint in the reverse direction 9oand tending to hold the parts A and B from bending sidewise. Q

It is apparent that the particular hinge connection between the twoconcavo-convex parts A and B might be changed and the de- 95 vice wouldaccomplish the described result, and would still be within the scope of'my invention.

Having described my invention, I claiml. A concealed joint for carriagetops comroo other part, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a carriage top, a concealed joint composed ot two coneavo-convexparts hinged together, and having their outer ends bifureated to formears, combined with bows which lie between and are pivoted to said ears,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT C. MAR'IELL.

Vitnesses:

JOSEPH A. PHELAN, W. A. McCoy.

